Quick Update!

I am currently on vacation in Japan, and had no time to prep materials before I left. Expect new content to come by the 2nd week of January or so...

See ya!

Set Model - My Fair Lady

This is a project I finished and presented last week for my set design class. It is a scale model of my set design for the musical My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Fredrick Loewe (based on the Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw).

The model box is made of foam core and black matte board. The set itself is constructed primarily with illustration board, but also some wooden dowels, clear plastic (from folders I got at the dollar store) and muslin for the little burlap sacks.

The whole thing is painted with acrylic paints. And made me really glad I took that scenic painting class last year. Otherwise I would have no clue how to paint stone or wood properly...

 I've set the play in the original time period/location of around 1912, London, England. I did lots of research on the city and the architecture of the time period. I wanted to to something that reflected the design aesthetics of the late 1800's to early 1900's. Because even if you set a play in 1912, not all the buildings and furniture would be brand new--I mean we still have furniture from the 70's in my house!

The archway is the centerpiece of the design, onstage for the entirety of it. It sits on a turntable that allows it to rotate to create different locations/scenes both indoors and outdoors. I was inspired by both the architecture of London, as well as the woman's silhouette in the costume of 1912.

This set was Higgins' office and could be used for all the interior scenes in Professor Higgins house.  Higgins' office had the most complicated pieces to build. It took a long time to make all the tiny furniture. Everything is constructed at 1/2"=1'-0", meaning the seats of the chairs are only about 1" wide. The bookshelves are rolled in and set up behind the archway for these scenes.

 This configuration is for the street scenes such as the musical numbers "Why Can't the English?", "Wouldn't it be Loverly?", and "With a Little Bit of Luck".

This configuration would be used for the scenes outside of Higgins house like "On the Street Where you Live" and "Show Me".  It reuses elements of the street scene set pieces. 

There are a few other scenes I designed, such as the ball and the racetrack, but those were not built for the project as I ran out of time and energy. The ball would have had the arch centered at the back with drapes hung behind and at the side of the stage. The racetrack would have had the same placement except no drapes, instead using the fences at the back and cafe tables in front. The racetrack scene is by far my favourite scene in the whole play.

Overall I am really proud of the finished result. :)

December Update

In the middle of my crazy exam week (3 exams back to back!?), but providing I emerge unscathed I should have some new content for you all in the near future! (Meaning next week.) Switching to a 1 post every 2 weeks schedule for the next 2 months as I am running out of new content--the content I have right now won't last me until April. hahaha New content coming next tuesday!

Today I finished and presented my set model for the play My Fair Lady in my set design class. That project took a long time, but I am glad  I got it done and I was able to present a piece I am proud enough of to put in my portfolio. I will do a more in-depth look at my model soon.

After I finish exams I have about 2 weeks to work on my design for my independent study project. Excited to have some solid time to sit down and work on that.

I am leaving for a 2 week vacation in Japan on the 20th of this month! Super excited to visit my sister and check out all the sites in Toyko and Kyoto! I will be buying many cute things. And maybe some fabric. ;D Be sure to follow me on instagram if you want to follow my crazy shenanigans on the other side of the world.

But since I am going on vacation, I will not be making my Christmas gifts this year, so I will not be generating much new content over this break. 

In other news, this past month I was presented with a scholarship award: The Harry and Jean Malabar Costume Award from the Ryerson Theatre School. I am so thrilled! It is an award for a student who has shown skill in costume design and construction. The funds from that will be going towards financing my independent study, as well as some future costumes.

That's all for now folks! Look forward to new content coming this tuesday. :)